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The Most Underestimated Major Sin | Khutbah
Delve into the concept of shahadat alzoor, bearing false testimony, and its profound implications in our lives. Drawing inspiration from contemporary examples, such as the controversial 40 beheaded babies narrative and Israel's politically charged falsehoods, Dr. Omar Suleiman unravels the consequences of spreading misinformation and the potential harm it can inflict on individuals and societies.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. unconditionally obeyed except for him. And we bear witness that Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam is his final messenger. We ask Allah to send his peace and blessings upon him, the prophets and messengers that came before him, his family and companions that served alongside him, and those that follow in his blessed path until the day of judgment. We ask Allah to make us amongst them. Allahumma ameen. Dear brothers and sisters, one of the wisdoms of us witnessing the darkness of injustice and oppression in this world is so that we manifest the exact opposite of those things in our personal lives. It's not just that we see the cruelty and reject it. It's that we see it and we examine ourselves and make sure that we don't have any traces of it. And much of what we are witnessing right now in the atrocities committed by Israel and the United States against our brothers and sisters in Gaza is the ugliest of spiritual diseases manifesting at a global level. And while we watch and watch and watch as the same courts, as the same international bodies that were set up by the powers that are meant to hold them accountable, always let us down at least a little bit. We remind ourselves of a day of judgment. We remind ourselves of a hereafter. We remind ourselves that there is a time in which justice is served. But at the same time, we hope that just as we wish to see our brothers and sisters in Palestine and the oppressed brothers and sisters around the world get justice, that Allah does not find us guilty of any oppression on the day of judgment ourselves. Be the servant of Allah that is mazloom. Do not be the one that is zalim. Be the one that is maqtool. Do not be the one that is qatil. Be the one that is oppressed, not oppressing. The one that is killed, not killing. This is
fundamental to the teachings of our beloved Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Now one of the things that happens when you start to read through the Quran is that every time Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions the ugliness of a sin, He also mentions the way that the believers manifest another quality. So when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala condemns financial corruption, riba, usury, and interest, and stealing, and all of those things, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions the believers lizzakati fa'iloon, those who purify their wealth, and they purify themselves by spending of their wealth in ways that are noble, and make sure that they always earn in ways that are noble. When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala condemns a zina, when He condemns adultery, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala praises walladhinahum lifurujihim hafizoon, those who guard their chastity. So there is always a beautiful counterpart to an ugly spiritual disease that Allah speaks about, that can manifest both at the individual level and at the community level. And I wanted to speak about today what is, in my opinion, and Allah knows best, probably the most underestimated of the major sins, of the kabair. Now there's a toss-up here, whether it's between the sin that I'm going to speak about, or a riba, usury, and interest. Why? Because there are major sins that are very obvious, murder, and adultery, and all of these things, drinking alcohol, these are things that are very obvious to us, right? And they're not as normalized within Muslim communities as some of the other things, especially when it comes to financial transactions that are becoming more and more digital. It's a lot easier to transgress in that regard, and it's definitely something that we should be careful with. But subhanAllah, this hadith always gives me pause because of the way that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said what he said.
And it's a hadith by the companion Abu Bakrah radiyallahu ta'ala anhu, not Abu Bakr al-Siddiq radiyallahu anhu, but another companion who is less known, and it's an authentic hadith where he says that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, Ala adullukum shall I not show you akbarul kabair, ala akbarul kabair, what the worst of major sins is? Shall I not tell you what the worst of major sins is? And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was always teaching. He said this alayhis salatu wasalam while he was reclining. So he's talking to his companions and teaching them even while he's reclining. And he says, shall I not tell you what the worst of major sins is? And the companions say, bala ya Rasulullah, yes, O Messenger of Allah. So he said, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, al-ishraqubillah. First and foremost, ash-shirk. Then he said, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, wa-uqooqul walidayn. And to disobey your parents, to harm your parents, to violate the right of Allah upon you, then to violate the right of your parents upon you. Then he said, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, wa-shahadatus zuur, and to bear false testimony. Wa-shahadatus zuur, and to bear false testimony. Wa-shahadatus zuur, and to bear false testimony. He said it three times, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, while he was in that position, in that posture. Now if you hear those things, the one that seems the least scary is false testimony. What does it mean to bear false testimony? I never went to court, hopefully never went to court and, you know, bore false testimony. What does that even mean? But the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam saying that three times, in and of itself, should catch your attention. And then Abu Bakr radiallahu ta'ala anhu says, kanamutakian alayhis salatu wasalam fajalas. He was reclined and then he sat up, sallallahu alayhi wasallam. And he said, ala wa qawlus zuur, ala wa shahadatus zuur, ala wa qawlus zuur, ala wa shahadatus zuur. He kept on repeating it until we got it.
Beware of bearing false witness, beware of false testimony. To the point that Abu Bakr says, qulna laytahu sakat alayhis salatu wasalam. We wish that he would stop, sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Not because we don't like hearing him and not because we're not heeding the warning, but it's like he's tiring himself, alayhis salatu wasalam, trying to impress upon us. Ala wa qawlus zuur, be careful with bearing false witness, be careful with bearing false witness. What is false witness and how do we see it manifesting both at the political level, in the global arena, as well as in our personal lives? Now the opposite is Allah azzawajal says, wallatheenahum bishahadatihim qaimoon. It's beautiful, those who are upright with their testimony, they are upright. You don't fear that they will ever lie no matter how consequential the truth is. And there's a connection here, that the believers live the truth no matter what the consequences are, both in terms of tawheed and abiding by the way of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and believing in God no matter what persecution comes with that. To say la ilaha illallah no matter what persecution comes with that. To abide by your principles no matter how far the society around you has drifted from those principles. To stay upon your way no matter how strange that makes you. So you are not afraid of the consequences of truth. Why do people lie sometimes? Because they're afraid of the consequences of telling the truth. There is a clear benefit to lying. So Allah azzawajal situates this within the resume of a believer. They will never lie in their testimony not to benefit someone else or to benefit themselves. Because they fear the consequences of that lie on the day of judgment far more than they fear the consequences of that truth here. They will stick to it. They are upright. They can be trusted.
The names of our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam before Islam, as-sadiq al-ameen, the honest and trustworthy one. You knew Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam for 40 years. The Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam never told a lie. Never cheated anyone. Never twisted anything. Never did anything that could compromise his credibility. Was a man of principle before he was declared a man of prophethood. And everyone knew it in society. والذين هم بشهاداتهم قائمون We are a people who are to be upright in our testimony. Now Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala describes ibadur rahman, the servants of the most merciful. And we can build on it inshaAllah ta'ala. And why the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam is impressing this upon us so much and what the applications of that are today. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, والذين لا يشهدون الزور A people who do not bear false testimony, do not witness false testimony. وإذا مروا باللغو مروا كرامة And when they come across vain speech, idle speech, they proceed with dignity. They leave with their honor intact. When they come across people who have departed from that honor, if they come across them talking, and subhanAllah, the way that the scholars described the second part of this verse is profound. Sometimes a gathering takes a wrong turn. You didn't intend it to take that turn. You're sitting with people and then all of a sudden, the gossip starts. All of a sudden, did you hear what so-and-so said? Did you hear what so-and-so did? All of a sudden, the gossip starts. All of a sudden, it takes a certain turn. And you did not anticipate that. وإذا مروا باللغو مروا كرامة You get out of that gathering and you spare yourself. You preserve your honor and you preserve the honor of the one that's being spoken about.
I'm not interested in the decrease of that person's honor or in my own honor by debasing myself, by being a part of a gathering where people start to slander and people start to diminish other people. Not gonna do it. And it's important because Allah never talks about a spiritual disease in isolation. Just like in Surah Al-Hujurat, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala builds up to the crime of backbiting, right? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala starts off with what? لَا يَسْخَرْ قَوْمٌ مِّنْ قَوْمٌ عَسَى يَكُونُ خَيْرًا مِّنْهُمْ وَلَا نِسَاءٌ مِّنْ نِسَاءً عَسَى يَكُنَّ خَيْرًا مِّنْهُمْ Look, first and foremost, don't think you're better than anybody else. You're not better than anybody else. Don't start to put people down and mock people, even in front of them. Don't think you're better than anyone else. وَلَا تَجَسَّسُوا وَلَا يَغْتَبْ بَعْضُكُمْ بَعْضًا Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, اجْتَنِبُوا كَثِيرًا مِّنَ الظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعْضُ الظَّنِّ إِثْمٌ Don't make assumptions about people. If you start to make assumptions about people, if you start to spy or you let your suspicions take you to the next level, let me check up and see what's going on with this person, you're going to go to the next level, right? It's not an isolation. And then you'll start to spy, and then you'll start to search for their faults. And then at that point, it's only natural that the next step is, وَلَا يَغْتَبْ بَعْضُكُمْ بَعْضًا You're going to end up in a situation where you are consuming the flesh of your brother or your sister. It didn't happen like that. In this situation, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala also situates false testimony with people who spare themselves, who spare themselves of gatherings or groups where they're going to diminish their own honor by being a part of those groups. So back in the day, that meant passing by a gathering or a gathering taking a wrong turn. Now it's your WhatsApp group. Now it's your social media. You know, your algorithm tailors to you.
So if you're only seeing nasty people, it's not a very good sign about where you've taken yourself to. If everyone on your feed talks a certain way, right, or interacts in a certain way, then that means that the shaitanic algorithm has figured you out, that that's what speaks to your inside. That's what speaks to you. You like that stuff, right? So let me feed you more of what you like. And so you continue to diminish your own honor while taking from the honor of someone else. So similarly to Surah Al-Hujurat, here Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala situates false testimony in that. شهادة زور والذين لا يشهدون زور وإذا مروا باللغوي مروا كراما Now, why is it that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam spoke about this the way that he did? And why is it that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala places this sin alongside a shirk? فاجتنبوا الرجس من الأوثان واجتنبوا قول الزور Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, leave off the worship of idols, and leave off قول الزور, leave off that false testimony. Because the scholars say that false testimony is usually of another degree of severity. And this is where I want you to pay attention. Your lies have consequences on people's lives. Your lies have consequences on people's lives. Once you share something, you own it. Once you retweet, you own it. Once you forward, you own it. And if that is not true, if there is a lie in there, and it has a consequence to someone else's life, unfortunately, that's shahada zuur. That is false testimony. And so the scholars say that false testimony is a lie that brings about an oppression. And there is no greater oppression than shirk. It's the lie that's told that an oppression is built upon. الظلم is then built upon. And there is no greater oppression than shirk. Now what does this mean in the global scene? And what's an example of قول الزور?
Your president who is trying to solicit your vote today, who's hoping that you will forget. Your president who looked into the camera, and said, I saw 40 beheaded Israeli babies with my own two eyes. Seemingly with tears in his eyes. Lied to the American public. Lied to the world. Bore false testimony. And said he saw something that he didn't. And then his White House spokesperson walks it back afterwards with a statement that no one reads. But what was the consequence of that lie? A president who sees 40 beheaded Israeli babies, but not the 10,000 beheaded Palestinian babies with his bombs. What was the consequence of that lie? We ended up with a beheaded, almost beheaded, six-year-old boy in Chicago. Stabbed 26 times. Partly due to that false testimony. Right? You put out a lie that has consequences. The consequences of that lie can never be walked back. That is شهادة زور. That is exactly what false testimony is, to see it in its most evil manifestation. Every accusation against the Palestinian people, as we say, is an Israeli confession. Everything that they say that we've done, they have done to us a hundred times worse. Proven, documented. But the thing is, is that once the lie is told, the lie is then sold to the public. And then unfortunately, lives are taken as a result of that. How many lives are taken as a result of false testimony? How many lives are taken as a result of those lies? Because you can't take it back, especially in this world when you speak it. And it already travels around the world. And then your president wants to come to your community and make sure that you're still gonna vote for him in November. I hope you send him the right message, inshallah ta'ala, as a community,
and let him know that his false testimony was witnessed by the rest of us. We saw it. We felt it. And we see the impact of global lies on global lives, especially the lives of the people of Gaza. Now for us, what happens when I pass something on? What happens when I pass something on carelessly that involves someone else's life and I have not done my due diligence to verify it as truth? And then it has a consequence on that person's life. Even if you were not in front of a judge and standing in a courtroom, you better believe that you will one day stand in front of the judge in a great courtroom, the court of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and He Himself will be the judge. And you will not be able to say, well, it looked like it was real, or everyone else was saying it. Careful, dear brothers and sisters. أَلَا وَقَوْلُ الزُّورِ أَلَا وَشَهَادَةُ الزُّورِ Imagine the Prophet ﷺ, إِنَّمَا أَنَا لَكُمْ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْوَالِدِ أُعَلِّمُكُمْ I am to you like a father, I teach you. Imagine the Prophet ﷺ in front of you and saying, أَلَا وَقَوْلُ الزُّورِ Be careful with bearing false witness. Be careful with passing on a lie that can have a consequence on someone else's life. Be careful with your recklessness. Be upright even if you think that the person that's being spoken about, and this is so important, our Prophet ﷺ never lied about the people of Mecca, even after they ran him out of Mecca, and even after they killed his relatives, and they did to him every form of evil that you can imagine. The Prophet ﷺ never reciprocated their lies, their tactics, their methodology, because we have to be better than them. We can't cede the moral ground. We can't cede the moral ground.
So the Prophet ﷺ didn't go around and say, Hey, let me tell you about Abu Jahl, and what I heard about Abu Jahl. Let me tell you about Abu Lahab, and what I heard about Abu Lahab. None of that. In fact, subhanAllah, one of the most powerful lessons we take from the seerah, is that the people that were persecuting the Prophet ﷺ in Mecca, they left their precious belongings with As-Sadiq Al-Amin even after they persecuted him, because they knew that the Prophet ﷺ would not do away with their precious belongings even as they took away the most precious people to him. Can you imagine if you're the Prophet ﷺ and you have Abu Jahl's watch with you? And what does the Prophet ﷺ do? When he leaves Mecca, he sends Sayyidina Ali رضي الله تعالى عنه, he says, Go return back the amanat, the trusts of all of these people. Even though he's fleeing their attempted murder, I will not be like them. I will not excuse myself to act like them no matter what they did to me, because we are not like them. And in his own personal life ﷺ, take the amanat back. And I want you to think about this. How many secrets in 40 years do you think the Prophet ﷺ had about Abu Lahab and Abu Jahl and about these people that he could have destroyed them with by passing it out in public? How many things do you think they took him, the most approachable human being in the world ﷺ? How many times do you think they took the Prophet ﷺ aside and they could talk to him when they could talk to no one else? And you think if the Prophet ﷺ did not give away their amanat, did not steal their amanat, the trusts of them, you think he would divulge their secrets? No. Because we're different. وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ بِشَهَادَاتِهِمْ قَائِمُونَ We don't bear false testimony. We don't cede the moral grounds. We don't become like the people who oppress us. We don't justify our own oppression by saying, well, the environment is as such. And there is a common thread
with all of the major sins here, by the way. Zina, everybody commits zina. Riba, everybody does riba. Alcohol, everybody drinks khamr now. Everybody does this, everybody does that. Everyone talks like this, everyone does this, everyone does that. Stop looking to the person to your right and your left and thinking, well, if he's doing it or she's doing it. Instead, ask yourself, am I willing to meet Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with it? أَلَا وَقَوْلُ زُورٌ أَلَا وَشَهَادَةُ زُورٌ Be careful, dear brothers and sisters. Lies have consequences on people's lives. Don't put your name on anything that you know is not true. Don't sign on anything that you know is not true. It might seem small, but it is big in the sight of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And we see what the lies of the president of the United States have led to in the destruction of the lives of our brothers and sisters in Gaza and even here. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us from that evil and rid us of that evil all around the world. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to see justice in this life and the next and to never be on the side of the oppressors in this life or in the next. Allahumma ameen. أقول قولي هذا واستغفر الله لي ولكم وليسار المسلمين فاستغفروا إنه الغفور الرحيم الحمد لله رب العالمين الصلاة والسلام على رسول الكريم وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين If everyone could please come forward as much as possible inshallah to accommodate everyone in the hallway.
Allahumma nsor ikhwan al-mustada'afina fi falastin Allahumma nsor ikhwan al-mustada'afina fi falastin Allahumma nsor ikhwan al-mustada'afina fi masharik al-ardi wa maghari biha Allahumma alayka bil-dhalimeen Allahumma ahlik al-dhalimeena bil-dhalimeen wa akhrijna wa ikhwana min bayni musalimeen Allahumma nsor ikhwan al-mustada'afina fi falastin Allahumma nsor ikhwan al-mustada'afina fi falastin Allahumma alayka bil-dhalimeen wa akhrijna wa ikhwana min bayni musalimeen
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